Archive - Feb 27, 2013

NORTH LIBERTY– Minions, Raging Infernos and robot Domination.
It sounds like the stuff of the latest blockbuster sci-fi action movie, but it’s really the team names Solon’s robotics students have crafted to intimidate their rivals.
Even the Stale Marshmallows pack a punch when it comes to showing off their engineering acumen. On Jan. 26, Solon middle school and high school students hosted a robotics competition at the North Liberty Community Center to do just that.

NORTH LIBERTY– Anything that lasts 20 years has a proven track record.
Anyone who has been able to grow and maintain a business in North Liberty for 20 years has accomplished a feat made even more remarkable by the fact that it is a family-owned-and-operated, non-franchise restaurant serving made-from-scratch goodness to the public since 1993.

CEDAR RAPIDS– The West High Women of Troy are going back to the Girls State Basketball Tournament. A decisive 55-42 win over City High Tuesday night at Cedar Rapids Prairie in a Class 5A regional final punched their ticket, and put the ladies on track for their third consecutive tourney appearance.
West led the third meeting this season of the crosstown rivals throughout, edging past 11-10 after the first period and taking a 21-19 lead into the locker room at the half.

Macbride Nature Recreation Area program designed for first through sixth graders

SOLON– Recreational Services will sponsor Chickadee Camp, a wildlife and activity program for first through sixth graders at Macbride Nature Recreation Area over spring break, March 18 through 22.
The fee for the program is $200, and scholarships are available for children of UI faculty, staff and students who qualify. Call 319-335-1371 or email familyservices@uiowa.edu for more information.
The youth camp will provide unique opportunities to study and observe wildlife of the prairies, wetlands and woodlands of Macbride in a late winter setting.

TIFFIN– The Clear Creek Amana (CCA) youth football program is holding registrations for incoming fifth and sixth grade students for the 2013-2014 school year on Thursday, March 14, from 6:30 until 8 p.m. in the Clear Creek Amana Middle School multi-purpose room. Registration forms will be available that night. Students will be weighed and measured for uniforms after the informational meeting.

NORTH LIBERTY– North Liberty Optimists will hold their 40th Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, March 2, from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the North Liberty Community Center.
All proceeds go to the youth of North Liberty. Some of what they support includes:
• North Liberty baseball and softball leagues.
• Scouting programs and 4-H.
• North Liberty library, parks and community center.
• North Liberty schools and family resource center.
• Kid friendly holiday food baskets.
• North Liberty Food Pantry.
• Heart Connection (send kids with cancer to camp).
• Youth scholarships.

NORTH LIBERTY– The North Liberty Community Library is hosting a wine tasting with the Brick Arch Winery of West Branch on Thursday, Feb. 28, from 8 until 9:30 p.m. Adults 21 years and older may attend and must have valid photo ID to participate in the wine tasting. Bottles of wine will be available for purchase. Come join the fun, taste new wines and enjoy an evening out. Contact adult services staff, Elaine or Laura, at 319-626-5701 with questions.

TIFFIN– Dr. Denise Schares, superintendent of the Clear Creek Amana (CCA) school district announced her pending retirement, effective June 30.
“It’s a transition point, and I think for the district, it’s a good time to bring somebody in on this really, really tremendous opportunity and challenge of enrollment growth,” Schares said.

CEDAR RAPIDS– There are two strict rules to guide Cedar Rapids’ NewBo City Market almost-anything-goes atmosphere: it has to be fresh. It has to be fun.
That’s why it is the place to be each Thursday and on weekends, where you can shop for farm-fresh produce, watch a cooking demonstration, experience a trendy flash mob by a local opera theater company and enjoy a relaxing glass of wine, all in the same place, any time of year.
“The idea behind NewBo is to make it a place people want to come to,” said NewBo City Market Director Ann Poe.

JOHNSON COUNTY– On March 5, voters in Johnson County will go to the polls for the second time in about four months.
The special election is to determine which of two candidates will fill the Johnson County Board of Supervisors seat left vacant by Sally Stutsman, who resigned from the board in January after being elected to the Iowa House of Representatives. Stutsman’s term ran through December 2014.